Outagamie County, WI - "Volunteers Fought Farm and Village Fires Since 1873"
       
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Subject: newspaper article "Volunteers Fought Farm and Village Fires Since 1873"
Submitted by: county coordinator 
EMAIL: jmmarasch@aol.com
Date Submitted: 15 March 2000
       
Source: New London Press newspaper article from Bicentennial issue, undated.

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       Volunteers Fought Farm and Village Fires Since 1873
     Since 1873, Hortonville has had a volunteer fire department, but for its first half century, people weren't the
only volunteers.
     The fire engine was horse drawn, but the city did not keep a team of horses for that specific purpose.  So
when the fire bell was rung to call the volunteers, any team of horses on Main St. was liable to find itself hitched to the
engine and whisked away to a fire.
     The Hortonville businessmen purchased the village's first fire department and Dite Collar was named the
department's first fire chief.
     It was equipped with an 8-man hand pumper and water was used from Black Otter pond or hauled in barrels
and other containers.
     Besides Chief Collar some of the village's first firemen were August Schultz, Mike Ritger, Wenzel Gitter,
Fred Herbst, John Hagen, Chris Hagen, Webb Collar and John Klein.
     In 1881, village residents donated their own time to build the village's combined fire department and village
hall, that was used till the new firehall was built.
     One of the fires fought by the early department was in the 1880's on the south side of Main St. It burned a
shoe store and barbershop, along with a residence behind one of the stores, all belonging to Ottamar Buchman.
     Firemen and citizens were able to save other businesses by using wet blankets besides the pumper and a
bucket brigade.
     In 1914, the Catholic church steeple in Stephensville was struck by lightning and the Hortonville fire
department wascalled to assist when the local residents couldn't reach the blaze.  The fire was finally extinguished, but the only way to
quench the flames was from inside the church shooting the water directly up into the steeple.
     The village purchased the department from the businessmen in 1916.  In 1925, the horses on Main St. were
finally given a .rest, as the city purchased a four-wheel drive fire engine.  At the same time, it purchased a fire siren to
replace the bell that had called the firemen for so long.
     While that siren was replaced in 1953 the old fire bell still stands ready to ring out its call, if a power failure
should silence the village's siren.
     In 1932, the Hortonville Rural Fire Department was formed to serve the townships of Ellington, Greenville,
Hortonia and the village of Hortonville.  Harris Hauk was named its first fire chief and he held that position till 1950.
     Today, 22 volunteers man the equipment in the village, while another 21 from Ellington and 16 from Hortonia
are on call for rural fires.
     The equipment has been continually updated and added to.  Today the department has three trucks; two
tankers and a pumper.  Another truck is presently on order.
     Today, Robert Rindt is the fire chief.  He is a barber, and along with all the other firemen, carries on the
tradition of the volunteer firefighters Ed Dorn is the chief engineer and treasurer while Ray Weiland is assistant chief,
Ron Korth is president, and Melvin Pankow is the secretary.